Gotemba Walkies
by Dan Rush
Summary: Astro and Kenichi Kennedy head for Mount Fuji after signs of its awakening have scientists worried. But the walk about is about to take an unexpected turn. Shota and Homosexual inuendo so if you don't want to read, don't.
1. Chapter 1

Gotemba Walkies

An Astro boy/ Kenichi fiction

By Dan

Tetsuwan Atom © 1954 Osamu Tezuka. Astro Boy 2003 © Sony Pictures and Tezuka Productions LTD. The Manga PLUTO ©. All rights respected, non-profit fandom only, no monitary gains sought.

Note: Slight shotacon. Homosexual innuendo. Characters are Astro and Kenichi from the 2003 anime done in the Pluto manga verse.

**Doctor O'Shay's house**

**Friday morning.**

Astro stood with two pairs of swim trunks in his hands. "Well?" He asked again as Zoran stood tapping a foot and running a finger around her lips…

"This is kinda stupid." She muttered. "It's not like anyone will care which one you take with you, they're both plain colors."

Astro dropped the light blue pair. "Ok, I'll take the red ones."

Zoran walked over to Astro's bed and flopped on it. "Soooo…is Atlas coming over?"

"Uh uh…" Astro replied as he finished packing his back pack. "Me and Ken are going up to Gotemba. He said he needed a break from his mom."

"Oh…" Zoran replied almost depressed as Astro threw the pack over his shoulder.

"What's wrong now Zoran? He's not being a bad influence on you is he?" Astro said as he started walking downstairs to the living room.

"Since when did being abysmally cute become a bad influence?" Zoran replied with a snort. "Yeah I'm going through a crush, make a big deal out of it already."

Astro sighed. "I'm not making a big deal of it, he thinks you're annoying…being honest."

Zoran jumped in from of Astro. "You're just jealous because I give him more attention than you! Then again…he's way more super-hot than you. You're built all wrong."

Astro smirked. "I'm built all wrong? How?"

Zoran crossed her arms and frowned. "You'll never get a girlfriend…you don't have a butt. That's what my friend Emiko says…boys with hot behinds always get girlfriends. Atlas is so magnetic, he's too dumb to notice. "Heeeeeee….has a real cute butt."

Astro shook his head. "I have nothing to say, my sisters a complete twit."

A knock at the front door sent Zoran running across the living room, almost colliding with Nora the robotic nanny as Zoran slid on her socks and turned the knob.

Kenichi Kennedy stood smiling and gave her a little wave. "Hey Zoran, is your brother here?"

Zoran poked her head around Ken's side and looked up at him. "Tsk, tsk…another poor suffering creature…big brother, your equally buttless sidekick is here."

"Zoran!" Astro gasped as he walked up. "Go do something less annoying!"

Ken looked back himself and smirked. "She's not a good judge of character."

"You're in sad denial." Zoran replied pointing. "You two are doomed to live a life of singular buttlessness."

Astro face palmed and shook his head. "I'm suffering, can you tell?"

Ken pursed his lips. "She's right though…you really do lack an aesthetic ass."

Astro put his face to Ken's. "I could forget being nice and turn you into a human pretzel you know…using your underwear?"

Ken smiled softly back. "I really need to know when to shut my mouth. Let's go."

As they walked down the narrow street towards the train station, Astro offered Kenichi a pastry from a paper bag. "So what made you decide to come with me? Your mom pressuring you again with study work?"

"That's just one thing." Ken replied as he took a bite of the pastry dough. "The other's something I really have issues with. I needed to get away with somebody I know won't flap off with their mouth."

Astro's eyes widened. "It's not something serious? I mean you didn't get some bad news or anything like that?" He asked concerned.

"Oh no! Nothing bad at all." Kenichi said waving his hands. "I guess it's a "point of view" sort of problem. So you chose Gotemba for the weekend?"

"I didn't." Astro replied as he and Ken stopped at an intersection. "Doctor O'Shay chose it. It's a play/work trip and I'm glad you came because I need the help."

"Sure. Anything at all. So what's the work portion of all this?" Ken asked as the boys crossed the street.

"I can't say anything…not now because there's too many people around. Just think of it as being way super serious that if it leaks out? Both you and I are not going to be sitting in comfort for a few weeks."

Ken pointed up with a finger. "We could fly you know? It would be faster that way."

Astro shook his head. "I can't. I've been kinda grounded." He said with a sigh as he got the train tickets from a vending machine. "Reno slapped me with a restriction program. I….got a little carried away in my spare time…"excessive speeding charge without due course or reason." That's what the citation said."

Ken's mouth dropped. "You got pulled over by the police?"

"I got taken to the station." Astro replied smiling. "Severe reprimand and remanded to Doctor O'Shay who took what "butt meat" I had left. It was my 3rd warning from the Ministry for "hot dogging". Reno was on my case from the time I walked into his apartment to the time he told me to get out."

"So you can't fly at all?" Ken asked as they walked onto the train platform.

Astro found a place to sit. "Well…only in controlled environments and I have to ask permission every time I want to fly. That….sucks."

"Wow…" Ken replied as they watched the next train pull up to the platform. "No joy in Atomville. So we're not sleeping out when we get there?"

Astro pulled out a blue plastic card from his pants pocket. "Uh uh…I got a Youth Hostel account for a place just outside Gotemba Cho that's free to members and one guest."

"Beeep! Beeeeeep!" A noise in Ken's pocket caused him to do a crazy sort of wiggle dance to free his cell phone from the mound of trash and paper stuffed in his back pocket. "Hello? Hello? I'm with Astro mom!...I could get my study packs on my phone but…Mom?...Mom I really need….yes Mom…." "click."

Ken sank down into his seat until Astro reached out and snatched his phone! "What?! Hey! Astro?!"

"This is sort of a vacation remember? I told you to leave this thing at home." Astro pulled open his chest door, threw Ken's cell phone through the opening then shut it tight to Ken's protesting.

"She's going to kill me Astro, I can't ignore her like that!" Ken protested as Astro pushed him back.

"She's going to "kill me" for ditching your phone." Astro replied smiling as he tapped a finger on Ken's head. "Relaxation? Has she ever heard of burn out? She's pushing you too much and letting you play too little. Don't you think it's really poor parenting when your Son's friends have to kidnapping him while he's still doing math problems?"

Ken sighed back. "She just wants me to excel."

"Can't do that when your brain's been turned to fried mush. Besides…you're becoming a sheltered introvert because you spend more time studying by yourself. That's not healthy for human growth you know?" Astro said smiling. "Do your-self a favor and chill out?"

"It's easy for you to say that. You being a robot makes your life stable because of your programming, you don't have to deal with the mess we humans go through." Ken said as he threw his hands out. "I mean I wish I had a program that sorted all my problems out instead of me having to sort em."

"It's not that simple Ken." Astro replied smirking. "Unlike humans, I can't adapt to some problems because my programming "is" fixed. You try dealing with something completely stupid while trying to get a wireless program upgrade through thin air? Nothing goes totally flawless."

Ken scratched his head. "Before we go too deep, will we have time to visit Kanomori Shrine? Mom wants some video of the flying squirrels."

"That's cool." Astro replied smiling. "I hear if you hold a peanut between your fingers, they'll swoop down and scoop it up."

Ken turned to look out the window as the train passed through a large expanse of farm land. "At least it's a nice clear day. Will the Doctor let you fly up to the summit of Mount Fuji?"

"That's one of the requests on the list." Astro replied. "For me. For you? You have to climb it like every other crazy human so I suggest you get your stick when we get there and start huffing."

Ken smirked back. "Sometimes you just suck."

"I don't see an elevator sign hanging around my neck do I?" Astro replied.

**Gotemba Cho**

"**Fuji five lakes" region**

Mid-day Friday

Ken followed Astro from the small, side feeding rail serving line station into the village of Shibanoshi. From the first appearance, it looked as if they had walked through a time portal to the mid-18th century. Most of the houses they were passing looked over a hundred years old. Most of the inhabitants looked equally periodic in dress, Ken pointed an elderly man out who was dressed in old wooden sandals and happy coat as he limbered a roll of wooden sticks on his back like an old delivery coolie would have done.

"This place is interesting." Ken remarked. "I'm waiting for a Samurai to pop out."

"They keep it very conservative." Astro remarked. "They don't want any robots here, which I'm not bothered. They should keep some parts of old Japan alive."

Ken's attention had been drawn away for a moment until Astro bumped a shoulder. "Hey?...We really should get to the Hostel before we lose out on a room."

"Ok." Ken replied. "So you need me to help with this thing you're doing?"

"Yeah…" Astro replied "I'll explain it all when we get the room."

Finding the Hostel wasn't easy even with Astro's computer abilities. Nothing marked the building as a Hostel save the non –Japanese teenagers who walked in and out in a steady stream of traffic. Astro and Kenichi walked through the double doors and up to the front desk.

"Hi! I have a room for two reserved?" Astro asked as he passed the girl behind the counter his Hostel card.

"Oh yes…unfortunately though, you'll have to share a single futon mat due to this being our busiest time of the year. I hope that's not a trouble?" The girl replied.

"No problem." Astro replied as he leaned on the desk top and gave the girl a dreamy innocent look. "If you're doing the wake up calls? I can happily short circuit and go to heaven."

The girl giggled and pointed to the stairs to the side of the desk. "Second floor, turn right, fourth room on the left."

The boys walked up the stairs and entered the small room. "Talk about a broom closet." Ken said as he looked around. "It's like ugly bumping space."

Astro walked over to the window and opened the shoji paper covered shutters. "It's a Hostel, I couldn't promise you the Hilton."

As they started unpacking their stuffed back packs, Ken noticed the folded topography maps Astro had set on the small writing desk in a far corner. "Ok…now that we're all alone, tell me about this super serious mission Doctor O'Shay put you on?"

Astro turned to sit on the futon. "Ok…but don't speak too loud and don't tell anyone! No one Ken, I'm serious."

Ken sat down himself and folded his hands in his lap. "I promise."

"Remember the great quake in 2011? It's a big part of why we're here. In 1705 there was an equally powerful earthquake off Japan's East coast. Two years later, Mount Fuji erupted from the Hoei crater."

Ken rubbed his lips. "Fuji's going to erupt?"

"Not sure." Astro said. "But they've been watching it now for two years and some of the scientists don't like what the data's telling them." Astro got a map from the writing desk and laid it out on the futon. "A volcano's like the neck of a balloon, you know…has a magma chamber below it filled with lava and gas."

Ken scratched his head. "And the magma chamber below Fuji is full?"

"The earthquake in 2011 may have shifted the whole crustal system in Japan." Astro said as he pointed around the map. "Mount Shimabara, Mount Unzen, Mount Aoi, Mount Fuji are all showing increased activity. What really has Doctor O'Shay worried is the North flank. Five new steam vents opened there last year, and the lower part has been "bulging" since last October."

Ken wrapped his arms around his knees. "Is Fuji going to erupt?"

"Right now?...doesn't look like it but you can't predict a volcano, it's not a train schedule." Astro said as he rolled the map up. "That's why I got asked to look at it this weekend. For now the government wants to keep this quiet to prevent a national panic."

Ken saw there was a picture of water on the writing desk and walked over to pour a glass. "Let's say we knew when Fuji might erupt…how bad could it be?"

Astro stood up and shrugged his shoulders. "Depends on the location. They don't expect it to come out of the old cone or Hoei Crater because the focal point of the magma chamber has moved since 1707. Some of the scientist are worried about the main cone's stability. If the eruption happens at the wrong place? Well….Mount Saint Hellens is a best guess, The cone could collapse."

Astro patted Kenichi on his shoulder. "I will never put you in danger Ken, you know that. If you want to stay here though?"

"No way!" Ken replied. "I'd go anywhere with you. And you're right after all, if I spend all my time locked up studying for college I'll end up being an introverted nutcase. So….where first?"

Astro picked up another map and held it open in his hands. "Mirasugaki Pass. It's on the North flank about 8,000 feet from the summit of the old cone. There's a little hill surrounded by dense forest, Doctor O'Shay says it's where one of the new steam vents from last year are."

"Awesome." Ken said as he grabbed his backpack. "So what's my job?"

"Acting as my trophy human." Astro said smirking. "Actually you're my insurance plug since you're a virgin. If the mountain starts to erupt I'll just toss you into the vent and plug the hole."

"Smart ass." Ken replied. "You should have brought Shibugaki then. More meat to fry."

"He's not our popular and cute class President. Two strikes against you already Ken." Astro said as he rubbed Ken's head and reached for his own pack. "We'll be sleeping there over night by the way."

"That's cool." Ken replied as they walked out of the Hostel and Ken allowed Astro to hug him from behind.

"I won't go too high or too fast." Astro said with a moan. "This restriction sucks."

Ken chuckled as they lifted off. "You should consider doing this as a summer job. Shuttling tourists around Fuji? You could pay for your own upgrades and some modifications."

Astro huffed. "Wouldn't last. Probably get some drunk foreigner and end up throwing them into the volcano. Besides, Doctor O'Shay frowns on me doing side jobs, says it would put excessive stress on me."

Arriving over Mirasugaki, Astro paused for a moment to allow Ken to sit on his back like a surfer on a board while he slowly flew in circles 500 feet above the forest below. "What are you doing?" Ken asked as he tapped Astro's head.

"I'm using my eyes thermal setting to look at the ground temperature, see if there's a sort of exhaust waste going on like hot sulfer dioxide. I can't take you down into the forest till I know the air's good."

"I guess having that would be dangerous?" Ken asked.

"Sulfer Dioxide acts like World War I Mustard Gas. It hugs the ground and suffocates anything that falls into it. So sleeping in a bag on the ground would kinda be stupid."

After he was sure it was safe, Astro landed in the woods and soon he and Ken had a spot cleared for their camp. "I brought a hammock for you so you can stay off the ground." Astro said as he started lashing the sleeping net to a pair of trees.

"You're going to sleep on the ground?" Ken asked.

"I'm not intending to get a lot of sleep." Astro replied. "I'm a robot remember? I really only need two hours down time to be efficient."

Ken rubbed his arms. "I'd sleep better if I could feel you near by…it would make me feel better."

Astro pursed his lips. "Ok…just don't go off without me. I want you close just so I can feel better. When we finish getting things set up, we're going to do some hiking around for ground and plant samples."

**Mid-Afternoon, Friday**

**Mirasugaki Pass Prominent Hill**

Ken watched Astro scoop up a spoon full of dirt and put it into his mouth where he sat chewing it. "You sure there's not Tanuki poop in that?"

"It's actually Red Fox and it's not bad." Astro replied. "Needs some seasoning."

Astro spit out the dirt, opened his chest door and pulled a strip of printed paper from the computer notebook attached to the door. "Look for the sulfide number and circle it." He told Ken. "The ground has an elevated trace of Sulfer dioxides. The danger numbers like 30 parts per thousand? The reading's at 20."

Ken followed Astro to a tree where he watched Astro cut a small square of bark off then laughed as the boy bot kissed the bare spot.

"Aww…such a lovely couple. When's the wedding?" Ken said as he broke into a laugh when Astro started licking the spot. "Now you're Frenching it?! I've heard of tree hugging Astro but damn!"

Astro glanced at ken, "Grow up?! You know everything on me is a sensor Ken."

"From the looks of it? I don't want to know what else is a sensor on you." Ken said as he followed Astro around for another 30 trees!

"Soooo….which one of these is a better lover?" Ken jested as he lightly punched Astro off the shoulder.

"None of them. All of the trees show progressive Sulfur poisoning. The gas comes up through the ground, mixes with the water table and fees into the roots. This whole forest lot is slowly dying. It's also the first indication that magma's putting pressure up against the roof of the chamber below."

Astro handed Kenichi a small roll of printed paper. "Keep that. I sent the results to Reno but it's always best to have two more back ups."

Ken slipped the roll into his bag and followed Astro to the base of the 200 foot high hill that sat in the middle of the forest lot. "What are you going to do when we graduate from High School Astro?"

"You think that far ahead?" Astro replied. "Shouldn't we pass 8th grade first?"

"Well…" Ken said as he sat on a rock. "It's not like you need to even go to school but since you're going to be stuck looking like a 12 year old, what else is there?"

Astro was doing another spoon sampling of the dirt and rocks that made up the hill and stood smacking his lips and moving his tongue around. "I really don't know yet. I know I'll work for the Ministry of Science, that's a given. I haven't chosen a field."

Ken nodded. "I want to be an engineer. Not because you get to build things. I think it's really interesting with all the mathematics involved. That or an architect."

Astro pointed to the mound. "This isn't a hill. It's a small volcanic creator vent. The material's pumice and ash. Don't know when it was formed because I can't date any of the samples. We'll have to bring some back to the Doctor and let him do the dating test."

Ken took a small vile from Astro's bag and passed it. "Do you have anyone besides your sister that you're close too? I mean…closer than just a friend?"

Astro thought for a moment. "Well I think of you, Tamao and Shibugaki as like second family. Reno's like an older brother."

"I was thinking more of like a…girlfriend." Ken said as he followed Astro up the side of the hill.

"Oh." Astro replied. "Not right now. Not like they build female robots specially for amorous reasons. I guess I'm too occupied to experience that phase of human behavior. What about you? Our class president has to have like a dozen girls following him like beach sand birds?"

"Well…there is a some one but they don't know yet…or might not want to know. I haven't thought of asking then about it."

Astro stopped. "You? Kenichi Kennedy, the most popular kid in our class, our President is afraid to asak someone out? Oh man, the human race has been set back a thousand years!"

"It's not a simple thing though!" Ken replied. "There's some complex things that could ruin everything."

Astro tapped his foot. "Oh please…how complex can things get at 13?!"

"Really messed up complex." Kenichi replied. "It's more than a simple "wow" for me to deal with it."

Astro shook his head. "It's not like I could help you Ken. Things like that are not in my programming. So is she cute?"

"In a round-a-bout way….yeah." Ken replied.

Astro raised a finger. "Chocolates…get a box and a few flowers, works wonders…at least they appease Zoran when she gets pissy."

Ken said nothing back as they reached the top of the hill where Astro stopped short, looked around then turned to fly Ken back down to the bottom!

"What?!" Ken said nervously. "What was it?"

"Didn't notice any of the trees up there huh?" Astro asked. "They're all nearly dead."

"I didn't." Ken replied as he watched Astro fly out of sight and come back a few minutes later with a branch in his hands. The limb was bleach bone gray and lifeless.

"Advanced sulfur poisoning. This is definably one of the vents Doctor O'Shay talked about. That's what happened when Mount Unzen started to wake up in 1992. The whole forest at the top was killed off by rising magma."

Ken played with his lips. "Then this is kinda like a pimple?" He said as he pointed to the mound. "Which means this whole part of the forest could be ballooning."

Astro smiled. "That's why you're our class President. You have a quick mind."

Ken smiled back, obviously pleased by the compliment. "Do you think I'm cute? Be honest."

Astro cocked his head. "Another thing I'm not programmed to gauge."

"I'm not kidding Astro, really…what do you think?" Ken said as he put his hands behind his back.

Astro stood for a moment analyzing Ken's features. "Yeah…from reviewing about 57 internet pages regarding what you'd describe as rating cuteness for boys, I'd say….you're about Jusin Beaver cute. Happy?"

Ken gave a half smile. "It's sort of an opinion I guess. I'm getting a little hungry, aren't you?"

Astro brought the time up in his eyes. "It is about your dinner time right? We'll go back into town for something then come back here…well….not so close to the mound."

"That's cool by me." Ken replied as he climbed on Astro's back and they took off back to the village.

**Shibanoshi Village**

**Late Friday afternoon**

**A Soba hut**

"Slurp!" Kenichi sucked in a helping of noodles from his Soba and offered Astro to share his bowl. "You like to eat…come on."

"You're doing fine." Astro replied as he sat typing on the computer pad he had pulled from his chest door. "I have to complete this write up for Doctor O'Shay. Don't talk about anything, remember that."

"Ok…what do I talk about then?" Ken asked.

"How's soccer? You're on a hot scoring streak." Astro said grinning. "You were fired up last week."

"Well…."Slurp, slurp"….we're now even at 3 and 3 with 20 games left. Still weak in the defense and goal but the other school teams have lost about the same so…"Slurp"…I feel good about our chances."

Astro tapped a few more times before putting up the pad and grabbing a set of chop sticks. "You sure got a ton of soba didn't you?"

Ken sat silently with small almost glassy gazes at Astro till the bot gave him a cocked look. "You ok? You keep looking at me like you're spaced out."

"Huh?" Ken replied. "Oh!...sorry!...must be my A.D.D. acting up…(chuckling)…you know how that goes?"

Astro shook his head. "You don't have A.D.D.?"

"No really! It's not requiring medication or anything, it just pops up."

"Oh kay…" Astro replied with a smirk. Ken was lying his butt off, why he was didn't matter.

After they finished the Soba, Astro and Ken spent time walking around the village and buying a few snacks before flying back to the forest lot on Fuji's flank. Something Ken was doing while they cruised over the land below made Astro curious. "Is there something about my cheek that you find interesting there Ken?"

"Huh? What?" Ken replied as he raised his head up from Astro's neck.

"You were trying to plow your head into it?" Astro asked.

"I….well…well it's….it's a crazy feeling! Did anyone tell you how super soft your skin is?" Ken asked boldly.

"No…certainly not Zoran. She says I'm built all wrong." Astro felt Ken's hand softly flowing over his cheek and he shivered! "Ok! Don't do that while I'm flying!"

"Uh! Sorry! I'm….I'm sorry Astro! Oh man I was being too creepy…" Ken was almost shaking till they landed back in their camp. "That was dumb…"

"Well?..." Astro said with a smirk. "That's like the first time I ever got a skin admire."

"It's just that I've never felt stuff like that you know? It's not real skin but it doesn't feel fake like most human looking robots…I know it's kinda strange but I got fixated just feeling it. Hope I didn't upset you?" Ken said nervously.

Astro chuckled. "No…it was just unfamiliar. My skin has this mesh net that takes scans, turns them into electrical impulses and feeds them to my processor. Sometimes I get a sensory overload from the slightest touch and it kinda freaks me out."

"So you're not upset?" Ken worried.

"You can breath now Ken." Astro said smiling.

**Friday evening**

Astro landed with a bundle of wood in his arms and dropped some into the camp fire he had made while Ken was busy writing notes from the collection of paper strips Astro had printed so far.

"So what's the next thing?" Ken asked.

"We're done for now." Astro replied as he sat and pulled his boots off. "Tomorrow we'll spend most of the day doing laser mapping of the ground and taking topographic measurements for land uplift."

Ken moved closer to the flames and rubbed his hands together. "I brought hot chocolate in my bag."

"You want some?" Astro asked. "Got a cup and some water?"

Ken nodded and pulled them out of his bag. "It'll take some time with this fire."

Astro took the items, mixed up the coco then fired the bottom of the coffee cup with his arm jet. "You forgot I'm an oversized Swiss Army knife." Handing the cup back to Ken, Astro gave him a puzzled look. "What's on your mind?"

"Huh? Nothing." Ken said as he took a sip.

"You can't fool me." Astro said as he crossed his arms. "I'm reading you like a book, something's bothering you."

"It's really nothing." Ken replied. "Just some things I'm working through that I don't want to talk about yet."

Astro nodded. "It's ok. I'm just being thoughtful since you are probably as close to me as Reno is."

"Honest?" Ken replied.

"Can't lie can I?" Astro said as he pointed to himself. "I mean you were the first one to welcome me to school, you got in Shibugaki's face when he went around saying bad things about us bots…and you got beat up by that bully for standing up for me…I don't think I need to say anything more. You mean a world to me."

Ken's mouth started quivering…"Oh no….Ken?...Ken it's nothing to…" Astro almost fell over when Ken wrapped his arms around and fell into Astro's chest crying…

"Wow…didn't think…didn't think you'd get this emotional over something….so simple.."

"You mean a lot to me…that's why." Ken said softly before he backed up and wiped his eyes. "I guess I'm just tired or a little strung out."

"Yeah…" Astro nodded. "You look a little stressed out. You should get some extra sleep"

Ken watched Astro unroll a sleeping bag. "You're going to sleep too aren't you?" He asked.

"Well…I can go longer than you can." Astro said as he fluffed a pillow in his hands. "I'll be up most of the night taking seismic readings."

To Astro's surprise, Ken took one of his hands and held it. "I'm….I'm not sure I can fall asleep right now…if…if you'd lay next to me till I….you know."

"All right." Astro replied with a nod. "If it will help you sleep?"

It wasn't longer before both of them were under a spread out un-zipped sleeping bag with Kenichi snuggling himself over Astro's chest for "extra warmth"…at least that's what Astro thought as he wrapped an arm around Ken's shoulders.

"You gotta be really tired." Astro said as he adjusted his internal mechanisms to make his body give off a very faint humming noise to help Ken fall asleep. Two hours later Astro slowly slipped away into the night.

**Saturday Morning**

The smell of something cooking woke Kenichi. "Morning." Said Astro as he held a camping tin before the groggy boy's eyes. "Breakfast?"

"Oh! Thanks." Ken replied as he took the pan. "When did you leave?"

"About two hours after you fell asleep." Astro replied as he pulled a can of oil from his backpack. "I've been recording seismology readings for most of the night."

"Find anything?" Kenichi wondered as he looked around for his shirt. "It wasn't that cold last night."

"I must have overdone it on my body temperature setting if you had to take all your clothes off." Astro said with a smirk. He watched Kenichi scramble around for his underwear.

"Sorry…" Ken said as he drew the sleeping bag in a clump over his lower body. "I have a habit of sleeping like that. So what did you find?"

Astro sat on the ground. "Well…trying to use a human medaphore…it's purring like a pissed off cat. A lot of low level disturbances with around 200 quakes between 1.5 and 3.2 magnatude. In other words, it's a very active system."

"Doesn't mean an eruption right?" Ken asked as he stood up to pull his underwear. "It would have to be worse than that?"

"Not always true." Astro replied. "Mount St. Hellens gave no warning, other than the fact that the whole North side was bulging like a pimple. When we do the uplift measurements today, we might get a closer answer. You don't have to scramble and eat too fast ok? Can't work on an upset stomach."

**Mid-Saturday morning.**

"Nnnnn…..now." Astro shot a red lazer beam from his finger from 500 feet above where Ken stood holding a reflective mirror. "Ok…got it. You're not getting tired are you?" Astro asked as he dropped down to take Ken to another spot.

"No." Ken replied as Astro scooped him off the ground and carried him 100 yards to the next spot. "So we're doing this till evening?"

"Ten sets of 50 shots each. We'll see uplift or down-lift then try to average a percentage out of it. The scale's from 1.0, no problem to 5.0...time to run your ass off." Astro said as he put Ken back down.

"3.0 being…piss your pants." Ken said chuckling. "What about the samples we took yesterday?"

"Still got em." Astro said as he talked through Ken's radio. "Ok…..now." Another lazer shot reflected off the mirror.

"You could have taken them back you know?" Ken said as he watched Astro float back down.

"And if something happened while I was gone?" Astro replied. "It's not funny to be running around an active volcano with your gizzler showing."

Ken smirked. "Gizzler?...you call….you call a penis a gizzler?"

"I was being nice." Astro replied.

"There's only two of us here you know?...I don't think the trees get offended by the word penis."

Astro nodded. "I…I was being courteous Ken."

"Would I be offending if I asked if you have one?" Ken asked.

"I….don't. It would be a violation of the UN Robot Convention Ordinance of 2010, Section 13, paragraph 2.3.1.L which states…"

Ken threw a hand up. "Never mind, I know where it's going. It's stupid."

"Actually it has a point. Robots can't be used as offensive weapons nor for military surveillance. We're kept somewhat artificial looking so some creep can't use a robot as an improvised Explosive Device."

Ken frowned. "But everyone knows you, it's not like you haven't been around long enough. You've told me before you wished you could feel more human so why can't they give you a break?"

"Why shouldn't they give every robot a break?" Astro replied. "Don't get me wrong, I'd like to look more human so I can fit in better but I'm not going to complain over sound reasoning. Besides, I don't have to worry about going to the bathroom every ten minutes. Can you imagine me in a fight doing a silly pee dance? "Wait! I gotta go!"

Ken laughed as Astro danced around with his hands between his legs. "Oh God! Astro! Help! Atlas is destroying the city!"

"Wait your turn, I'm busy!" Astro replied giggling. "Stupid Doctor O'Shay…why did I get such a small penis?"

Both boys sighed as they stopped laughing. "Wouldn't that be hilarious?" Ken asked.

"I've been thinking for some time that Atlas violated the convention, to be honest." Astro said as he took a break.

"You're serious?" Ken replied.

"Yeah." Astro said as he looked around. "But I think he probably has a vagina…since he's such a complaining bitch all the time."

Ken nodded in agreement. "He does. So why are you so lenient with him? The police call him a criminal and a terrorist, at least that's what Inspector Towashi says about him."

Astro sat writing in the dirt at his feet with a finger. "I feel sorry for him I think….I guess that's what I gathered from processing all the information. He actually means well for robots but he's thrown every human into a catch blanket and sees no differences. To him? All humans suck and they all need to be chained, shackled and forced into mandatory protection by robots."

Ken pursed his lips. "Soooo….it's nothing more than that? Can't your hanging around with him get you into big trouble"

"There's a "kin-ship" side." Astro said as he scratched his head. "We're almost alike in a lot of ways and he's not a terrorist, not in the definition. I spend a lot of time with Atlas just keeping him from getting into worse trouble. As for what Towashi thinks? It's his usual rant against robots in general. Secretly he thinks…I'm a little ass hole."

"You swore!" Ken snapped.

"Now the world's going to explode, Astro said a curse word. You know I don't do that all the time." Astro said as he checked the time. "We can get another set in before lunch."

**11am**

**Oshiru Sushi House**

**Hinoshi Kun Town**

Ken sat looking at Astro's electronic note pad, glancing up every few seconds to watch Astro as he downed a large Fried Eel and rice roll. "2 point 4….2….point….4…"

Astro grabbed a small helping of wet ginger and popped it into his mouth. "Yeah….?" He said slowly…"No quite in your pants but….the dancing around is starting."

"And the uplift measurements?" Ken asked as he pointed to the pad. "According to this the ground went up and down in five hours a total of 4 feet!"

"It rose 3 feet and deflated 1 foot." Astro said as he ran a finger over the screen. "At Mount Uzen and Mount St Hellens, the ground expanded continuously up to five feet a day with any appreciable decrease, which means there was absolutely no way for the gases in the chamber to dissipate enough to avoid a catastrophic explosion. We'll do more sets till about 4pm then get some gas readings till 7pm before we stop. I think we'll spend the night back in the Hostel so you won't freeze your butt off again." Astro smirked…"Your little pink butt."

"Shut up!" Ken snorted back as he slapped Astro off the shoulder.

"I should have gotten a blackmail picture." Astro giggled. "You're butt really is small and pink."

Ken snatched up his glass of water and splashed it over Astro's head. "Now you're just wet and annoying."

"How right you are." Astro replied as he looked down at his now soggy Unagi roll. "That's what I get for being funny."

"Beeep! Beeep!" The chiming came from Astro's body.

"Astro here?" Astro said as he played with his soaked Unagi.

"_It's Doctor O'Shay. I just got a call from the Government National Hazards Ministry director Astro. Apparently there's been a steam explosion in Shounai Han, that's what they judge from the calls they've received from there. It's coming out of a small hill the locals call "Tanuki Skakoshi-kun." _

"We're taking off now Doctor." Astro said as he got up, took Ken's hand and walked out the front door and into the sky without a stop. "I'm taking you back to the Hostel first Ken.

"No way!" Ken protested. "I wanna see it!"

"I'm responsible for you." Astro replied. "It'll be too dangerous and I'm sure I'll have enough trouble with the locals getting curious as is, don't argue with me."

Ken relented and frowned as Astro dropped him off and left for Shounai. He was gone until 6pm when he returned to find Ken sitting on the futon as he walked in.

"What was it?" Ken asked as he stood up. "Anyone hurt?"

"No." Astro replied as he sat down. "But what was once a two hundred foot tall hill is now a 57 foot tall cone with a big hole in it. No ash, just ground water turned into steam and an easy path to release. The not so nice part is that magma is working closer to the surface. You get a crack in the bedrock below a water table and "Kaboom!"

Astro stopped to open his chest hatch and type into his computer pad. "They ordered an evacuation of Shounai Ken as a precaution and Doctor O'Shay wants gas samples from the vent to make sure the sulfur content and spectrometer readings are low."

Ken got up from the futon and walked over to Astro. Without even thinking…he gave Astro a tender kiss on the cheek?"

"Ken?" Astro asked as Kenichi wrapped his arms around him. "Uh….I was only gone a few hours you know?"

"I know…" Ken replied. "I was worried."

"Gee…" Astro said as he patted Ken's arms. "Zoran doesn't act like this. She usually says I was dumb if I got hurt."

"She's a ditz." Ken replied.

"You think you could hold me all night or can we get some other work done?" Astro asked with a grin.

"Oh? Yeah! Sorry…" Ken said as he backed off. "You know? When you're an only child in the family…you tend to get latchy with others."

"I guess." Astro replied as he grabbed his backpack. "I think it's safe enough for you to come with me…if you want too?"

"No…I'll just stay here and play with myself." Ken smirked back. He soon followed Astro back out into the evening sky and towards Shounai Han.

**10pm**

**Youth Hostel**

**Shibanoshi**

"You coming?" Ken asked as he stood wrapped in a long towel with a pair of slippers on his feet. "I know it's not an oil bath and I wasn't sure if you could?"

Astro came out of the room with a towel slung over his shoulder. "I just spent what? Two hours poking around inside a steamy volcanic vent hole and you're worried I might rust from a hot bath? You need to lay off the ridlin."

"So….no readings to worry about?" Ken asked as he and Astro entered the small bath house next to the Hostel. They grabbed a pair of individual wash buckets and sat down beside the oak wood soaking tub.

"Nothing substantial." Astro said as he grabbed a bush, poured liquid soap over it and started scrubbing his feet. "I wasn't expecting anything major for now but the vent will need surveillance."

Ken took his big towel and set it aside. Slowly…he yawned and stretched on his small stool, spreading his legs wide out as he faced Astro before grabbing a smaller towel and putting it over his lap. "My legs are a little sore from climbing around that hill."

"I bet." Astro replied as he poured a bucket of water over his head. "Don't tell your Mom I let you do that ok? She'll rip my head off."

"I wouldn't tell her." Ken said as he lathered soap over himself. "She'll kill me first for forcing you to let me."

Ken waved his soap puff. "Can you scrub my back?"

Astro slid closer and gently ran the soapy puff around Ken's back and shoulders. "Tomorrow we're going to do another 10 sets of uplift shots in the morning. After that I'll take you to that shrine and the top of Fuji if you want."

Ken fell back against Astro's arms and arched himself.."This feels nice."

"Better this than sitting in ash all day huh?" Astro replied as he passed the puff over Ken's shoulder. "Can you do mine now?"

Ken turned about and started rubbing Astro's back slowly in circles. "You really are built very nice." He said softly as he felt his heart beating faster and a warmth wash over his body. Ken fixated his eyes on Astro's neck, his gaze turning glassy as he fell slowly forwards and all but stopped his hand motions over Astro's shoulders…

He then spread his lips and planted a long and loving kiss on Astro's nape.

"Ken?" Astro froze suddenly and felt Ken push off his back and fall onto the floor! He didn't get to say another word before the frightened teen snatched his towel and bolted out the washroom door upset!

Astro waited an hour before going back to the room where Ken stood by the window hugging his shoulders and looking like he'd seen a ghost. "Hey? You ok?" Astro asked as he grabbed his clothes that were draped on the writing desk.

Ken sighed and looked nervously at Astro. "No….Astro….I'm sorry…"

"For what?" Astro asked. "You've been acting strange ever since we got here. I sensed something was bothering you but I got the feeling you just didn't want to talk."

Ken turned and leaned against the window. "By the way?" Astro said smiling. "The window's open and you're kinda naked?"

"Oh shit!" Ken snapped as he looked about and quickly threw on his pants. "See! I'm all messed up!"

"You're nervous." Astro said as he walked up, took Ken by the shoulders and sat him in a chair. "Please? Before you have a stroke?...breath."

Ken finally relaxed. "Phewwww…." "Uh….this sucks. I really don't know what to do."

"About what?" Astro asked.

Ken took another breath and stretched his hands out. "I….I….I like…boys."

Astro nodded. "Yeah…I like Reno, You, Timao…"

"No…." Ken replied shaking his head. "I "really" like other boys."

Astro thought for a moment, his face contorted. "Oh…..kay….I really like everybody…"

"No…" Ken rubbed his hair and winced his eyes…."Astro….I'm gay."

For a moment, everything went quiet. Astro's face went from a blank stare to a sideways glance to a pucker mouth, to a few silent words…

"Wow…" Astro finally said.

"Yeah…" Ken replied nervously.

"Gay?...as in happy kinda gay or the Okama kinda gay?" Astro asked.

"The second kinda one." Ken replied nodding.

Astro sat back and shrugged his shoulders. "Wow…that was a nice surprise…wow…you? That's hard to….to process….I mean….Kenichi Kennedy? Wow."

Ken rubbed his hair. "And…I've kinda had a crush on you for a while."

"Obviously." Astro replied almost chocking. "I….I think I figured that out in the bathroom? Actually no I didn't."

"I'm sorry…..I'm so sorry…" Ken started to panic. "Please Astro! Don't say anything! Don't tell my Mom….Shibugaki…anyone…..please…please…"

"Ken?" Astro asked.

"I don't know what to do…if anyone finds out…"

"Ken?"

"Oh my God! I tried to make out with you!"

"KEN!" Astro snapped. Ken slapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes bulging wide with fright. "Ken?…..calm…..down."

Ken shook his head. "I feel like I'm so full of dirt."

"Well…you weren't going to get…very far…unless making out with something that's akin to a plastic doll is your kinda thing?"

"I don't find anything funny about this!" Ken suddenly snapped.

"I wasn't trying to be funny." Astro replied. "I just want to know that you won't do something rash. The world didn't explode did it?"

"I tried…" Ken started to go off again till Astro grabbed his hand.

"Stop it!" Astro said as he pointed. "And breath! I'm not giving you mouth to mouth, you might enjoy it too much."

Ken started laughing.

"You try slipping me a tongue and I'll catapult you up to Fuji's summit…you nutcase." Astro smiled as Ken started to relax again.

"I can't believe I tried….God Astro, I am so….so…..sorry…" Ken sat shaking his head as Astro closed in with his face…

"Now let's not overlook a gift horse shall we?" Astro said with doeish eyes.

"CUT IT OUT!" Ken snapped as he pushed Astro back. Astro looked downwards and smirked…

"Flag pole." He said pointing.

"OH MY GOD YOU CREEP!" Ken yelped as he cupped his hands between his legs. "YOU DOUCHE!"

"Laughter" "Ken!" "Laughter" "You should see your face! It's so red!" Astro sat laughing as Ken buried his face.

"Astro please…can we stop talk about this now?"

"Sigh….yeah…not another word…unless you got some really twisted revelation like you wear girl's panties or something stranger?" Astro quipped. Ken picked up a pillow and it exploded in a cloud of feathers around Astro's head!

"We're gonna have to pay for that you know?" Astro said with an upraised finger.

"Grrrrrrr….." Ken growled as he stomped the floor. "Oh you fuck off!" He screamed as he walked out and left Astro bewildered amidst the floating cloud of feather down. It was a few hours before K en came back and found Astro sitting in a corner reading over his collected notes.

"I didn't mean it when I said you could fuck off." Ken said as he sat down.

"I wasn't offended." Astro replied. "Are you feeling ok?"

"After I took a walk to think…yeah." Ken said as he played with his fingers. "You….you "were" my first crush. Gave myself a huge let down…don't have anyone else you know, not like there's some big school announcement board for this kinda stuff right?"

Astro crossed his arms. "To be honest? I think it would be better for you to wait till after High School to find someone. Right now you're too vulnerable and still immature. I'm just looking out for someone I hold dear. Don't take this the wrong way Ken but there's other things that need more attention than this."

"So…it doesn't bother you?" Ken asked. "I haven't offended you?"

Astro smiled. "Well you could wash my back more often…you have silky hands. Zoran's are like a pair of steel scrubbing pads."

Both boys laughed and joked until it was time for sleep. At first Ken tried to lay away from Astro on a sleeping bag…

"Ken? I won't bite." Astro said smirking.

"I just thought that…" Ken replied shrugging.

"You know you won't get to sleep and I'm not dragging your cranky, complaining butt all over Fuji!" Astro snorted.

"But?..." Ken replied hesitantly.

"Ken? I really doubt you'll do anything." Astro said contorting his face. "Really?"

Ken crawled onto the futon and laid close to Astro, putting his head softly onto Astro's chest.

"Ken?" Astro asked with an eye open. "Am I imagining things or do you have an erection?"

"Astro? Shut up?" Ken replied as he yawned.

"Just checking." Astro said as he closed his eyes. "Good night Ken."

"Night Astro."

The end


	2. Chapter 2

Gotemba Walkies

An Astro boy/ Kenichi fiction

By Dan

Tetsuwan Atom © 1954 Osamu Tezuka. Astro Boy 2003 © Sony Pictures and Tezuka Productions LTD. The Manga PLUTO ©. All rights respected, non-profit fandom only, no monitary gains sought.

Note: Slight shotacon. Homosexual innuendo. Characters are Astro and Kenichi from the 2003 anime done in the Pluto manga verse.

Chapter two

**6am Sunday**

**Youth Hostel**

**Shibanoshi**

Kenichi smelled the sweet aroma of maple cooked sausages and slowly woke to find Astro starring and smiling as his face hovered over him.

"Good morning." Astro said cheerfully. "And you still have your clothes on? I'm stunned!"

Kenichi pushed him back. "Ha….very funny." He snorted as he sat up.

Astro gave him a plate and took his own in hand. "Are you feeling better?" He asked.

"I guess." Ken replied. "I sure slept ok, though it took a little to be comfortable."

Astro pursed his lips. "Was I supposed to treat you like a leper or something? You're no different than you were a day ago."

Ken sighed. "I didn't tell anyone I was queer a day ago did I?"

Astro shrugged. " You're still Kenichi Kennedy. You're still a star junior high soccer player, you're still class president, you're still incredibly smart and who knows you might just grow out of this and end up married to a prom queen, have 9 kids and run for Prime Minister. Now what? I'm supposed to treat you different? Roll a red carpet, announce that you're "gay" all over the place and walk like I have egg shells up my butt?"

Astro looked behind himself. "Oh right, Zoran says I'm buttless…but why go through all that mess just so you can end up twice as miserable as you could be? Explain that? I got the answer… sometimes humans do really, really dumb things."

Ken played with his food for a bit. "I still feel bad about what I did in the bathroom."

Astro pursed his lips. "Don't. You didn't offend me, you know that's pretty hard to do to a robot? We don't react emotionally. I don't hate you, I'm not going to rip your heart out and I'm not going to blab to everyone that you kissed my neck….unless you want to be a registered sex offender in the 7 prefectures?"

Ken sighed. "It was so stupid."

"You were acting out on typical human hormones and emotional blindness. It was a normal act for a budding teenager, don't torture yourself over it?" Astro said smiling warmly. "Right now, I can't afford having to watch both you and what's going on with Fuji and I really need your help and your head in the game."

Ken nodded and took a deep breath. "I'll be ok…So what's next?"

Astro finished his breakfast and grabbed a map. "First, I left you about 1am and did seismic surveys all over the Northern flank. There hasn't been a change in the number of quakes but the strength average went up from yesterday. We have to do another series of uplift measurements, get some more gas readings and re-visit that new vent. I called Doctor O'Shay this morning and he's supposed to meet with the volcanology safety ministry this morning."

Ken stood up and grabbed his back pack. "Ok…I'm all set."

Ken followed Astro out the front door and hopped onto his back as they took off. 'So what's your best guess if you crunch all the data?" Ken asked. "Is it getting serious?"

"We're still dancing around outside the locked bathroom door without a trickle yet." Astro replied.

"You sure come up with the silliest explanations to describe a situation." Ken said as he looked below.

"It's a gift." Astro replied. "I'm not exactly well verse in using human metaphors yet."

Astro had been following the one road which did a circular loop around the flanks of Fuji when something in his mind caused him to stop and slowly drop to the asphalt below.

"Why are we stopping?" Ken asked as Astro set him aside.

Bringing up a map on his optics, Astro stood looking up and down the highway while browsing over the depicted terrain map. "I've seen some cars going up this part of the highway but….not so many coming out."

"Well…it's Sunday." Ken said as he started looking around. "How many people drive on a Sunday?"

Astro played a finger over his lips and picked a place out of random. "Let's go by Nurajima Village…"

Ken jumped back on Astro's back and they flew towards Nurajima with Astro going slower the closer they got. Ken looked down as they flew over…

"It's what?...7am now?" Astro asked.

Ken nodded. "7:20 actually."

Astro turned and flew off towards Fuji. Finding a hill he landed and dropped Ken off his back then opened his chest door and took out the computer pad. "Take this. You can use it as a radio."

"What are you seeing?" Ken asked.

"Did you see anyone on the streets in that village?" Astro asked. Ken saw a look of worry starting to show in his friend's face.

"I….I didn't pay attention." Ken replied. "But I've never seen that much activity in my own neighborhood on a Sunday so that's not unusual."

Astro set the computer pad up for Ken with multiple split screens. "This is too unusual." Astro snorted. "Even at that time I should have seen a few people walking around, a few cars moving, a few cats, dogs, birds?...there was nothing."

Astro pointed to a blinking dot on the screen. "If I ask you to touch that dot? Don't hesitate."

Astro took off without another word until Ken heard his voice on the computer pad. "Is it working ok?"

"Yes." Ken replied. "You put up this numerical reading screen on the lower right? What should I watch for?"

"If the numbers turn red." Astro replied. "You're going to be doing all the extra stuff so I can concentrate on just the location."

Ken smiled. "Can I control you like a UAV? That would be cool."

"Sure." Astro snickered back. "But I won't let you. I don't feel like doing a header into a wall or something crazy. I'll land on the outside of the village and walk in ok?"

Ken found a stump to sit on and watched from Astro's view as he walked past the village's welcome sign. "I don't hear anything." Astro said. "You'd think at least a dog would be barking or something? How's the numbers?"

"All green." Ken said as he rubbed his lips. He watched as Astro walked by a decorative water fountain and cupped a palm of water from it. "You just took a sip and nothing changed." Ken said as he focused hard on the numbers.

Astro turned around and sat on the fountain's edge. "Water's fine….air's fine….nothing looks wrong but there's no one up and around?" Astro pursed his lips and looked about. "I'm going to scope out a house."

Ken watched as Astro started walking again and traveled three blocks through the village before he stopped cold and fixed his eyes on what looked like a dead bird.

"You see this?" Astro asked.

"Yeah…dead bird." Ken replied.

"It's not the only one." Astro said as he turned his eyes on other dead birds around him. "How are the numbers now?"

"Green." Ken replied. "Nothing bad."

Astro hopped over a gate at the closest home and fell flat on his face!

"You ok?" Ken asked.

"That was a silly question." Astro replied. "Nice place to put a stupid Big Wheel." Astro snorted as he stood up and walked around the yard. "I made a good noise with that fall, someone should have heard me."

Ken could see it was a single story house but every window was shade covered. "You should use your x-ray and infra-red and scan the inside."

Astro stood tapping a foot. He banged on the side of the house….listened….banged again….listened and scratched his head. "I'll do it. Tell me what you see."

Ken watched as Astro's vision changed from color to multiple gray hues as he shot x-rays and intense infra-red energy through the wall of the home. "I can see a bed room…looks like two kids in it I think."

Astro switched his images to color. "What color are they? Do you see any red?"

Ken looked closer and shook his head. "No…all blue."

Suddenly without another word Ken watched Astro run from the side of the house and tackle the front door into a cloud of wooden shards! "Touch that button! Now!"

Ken poked the blinking button on the computer pad and watched as Astro went running through the house, into the bedroom where two children were sleeping and pulled them out by their pajama tops into the yard! "What?! What's wrong Astro?!" Ken yelped as he watched Astro try CPR on one of the kids.

"Who the hell is bothering me on my damn Sunday off?!" Came a snarling, angry voice from the computer pad Ken was holding. "You better have a good reason for this young man!"

Ken almost dropped the pad as he bobbled it about. "Sorry! Inspector….uh….uh….ASTRO!"

"Damn it…" Astro could be heard saying as he tried to help the second child. "Is that Towashi?"

"It's Inspector Towashi! You better explain yourself Astro…" The police inspector snarled. "If the city isn't under alien invasion and you're waking me up with another matter my officer's could handle without you…"

Astro sat rubbing his head and wincing hard. "Well….how about a village full of dead people Inspector? Does that qualify for waking your loud mouth ass up?"

"Why you!...wait?...did you say a village of?"

"Dead people…unfortunately." Astro closed the eyes of the child he had tried to save then jumped up and kicked the Big Wheel over the wall. "I'll seal off the village and keep people away from it until you send the national police here. Make sure they wear SCUBA tanks and masks and carry S2 detection gear."

Astro walked out of the yard, flopped onto the sidewalk and sat with his head resting on a palm. No sense in getting emotional, nothing that could help the numbers of poor people who might be in the houses around him.

"Astro?" Kenichi asked. "Am I ok here? I'm not in any danger am I?"

"You're fine." Astro replied. "But we just went from a pee dance to a stream down our legs."

"What happened?" Ken asked. "There's nothing you sampled that shows anything wrong, how did they die?"

"Nyos syndrome." Astro replied soberly. "Lake Nyos in Africa in 1984 released a flow of Carbon Dioxide and Sulfer fluorine gas…technically it makes something like World War I phosgene. Heavier than air, it stays low to the ground and pools. Anything caught in it will smother to death."

Ken covered his mouth. "How many people died there?"

"About thirteen hundred." Astro replied. "I'm going to shut off the camera feed. I want you to stay where you are. I'm….going back to…to take care of the two kids in the yard."

Ken watched as the pad screen blanked out and sat worryingly wringing his hands and holding himself till Astro arrived. "You ok?" He asked as Astro found a place to sit.

"I found a mile long crack in the ground near the village." Astro said frowning. "It must have split under pressure and sent all that gas streaming through town…they never had a chance, happened about 2:46am or close to that."

Ken scratched his head. "Is this the same as that explosion that happened on that hill yesterday?"

"Sort of." Astro replied. "Except it's a rip, not a burst." Astro suddenly jumped up. "Shit!"

"Woe!" Ken yelped. "You swore again!"

"And the mountain's crumbled, the monuments fell apart and people died from fright." Astro snorted. "Give me the computer pad, grab your back pack, hurry up….hurry up…"

"What?!" Ken snapped as Astro slung him onto his back. "Hold on!"

They were off and racing fast through the sky and back to where they had done the uplift measurements a day ago, only Astro was moving faster through the sets and leaving poor Ken shaken by being constantly dropped, picked up and carried from place to place without a break!

It was hours before Ken's complaining brought a stop to the frenzied fly-about. "How many times do I have to complain about having to go! Sheesh, I just dripped in my dripped in my pants you dufus!"

Ken pulled his pants down without any worry…"Gee…" Astro said snickering. "You're not wearing panties after all! You do act sort of transvestiant."

"Oh…..fuck you!" Ken yelped back as he pissed. "I "thought!" you told me to forget about worrying over all the homosexual stuff?!"

"I couldn't resist." Astro said with a toothy grin.

Ken zipped his pants and stood frowning. "Now that you've had your fun? Mind telling me why you suddenly dragged me around like a silly sack of dead rocks? I know we were going to take more uplift measurements but you don't just whip me around like that and expect me not to complain about it!"

Astro waved his hands. "Wow! You even complain like a girl Ken!"

"ASTRO?!" Ken yelled.

"Ok…..ok….calm down." Astro begged. "At first I thought this signaled something serious but so far conditions around the North flank are holding. There must have been a rapid uplift that broke the bedrock and opened a snap fissure. I'm sorry I did that to you but I had to confirm we weren't facing an immediate crisis."

Ken calmed down. "Ok…man this weekend has been stupid."

"Yeah?" Astro replied as he pulled a strip of information from his chest and handed it to Ken. "It's not over yet. This whole landscape's becoming active from the looks of it? Where we've put our attention may not be the only spot of ground that's in trouble."

Ken looked at his feet. "You're saying it's not only Mount Fuji aren't you?"

Astro nodded back. "Right now? Who knows where an eruption might occur or where exactly it might come from or how powerful it might end up being. What happened in that village though definably cranked this up a whole bunch."

"So what now?" Ken asked as he gave Astro a shrug. "What's the next thing to do?"

Astro stood playing with his lips. "I take you home."

"Ooooo….." Ken said smiling. "I hope your bed is warm?"

"Shut up?" Astro replied snorting. "Your home dufus."

"Just jabbing back at you." Ken snickered. "I'd rather skip school and help you."

"Not gonna happen." Astro replied. "With things starting to look interesting around here, it would be better if I wasn't too loaded down with extra stuff."

Ken looked disappointed, even worried. "You're sure? There's nothing wrong with an extra set of eyes or hands you know?"

Astro put his hands on his hips. "Ken? Do I look like a piece of cell phone bling?"

"No…" Ken replied as he grabbed his back pack. "I just know what's going to happen the moment I get home. I don't want to be tied to books and lessons when I might have the most exciting time of my whole life."

Astro sighed and tapped a foot. "You know it's totally against the laws of robotics for me to put you into a place where the danger is more than assured. I can't break that protocol Ken, it's impossible."

Ken sighed back. "Yeah…kinda fruitless isn't it?"

Astro smiled warmly. "You know if it were any other way…I'd totally have you with me."

Ken climbed on Astro's back and held on until they were back at his house. Astro didn't get a step away after dropping Ken before his hand got snatched. Ken pulled him back, almost causing Astro to trip as he caught him by his shoulders…

"Uhhh…..sorry….I…well….just….just wanted to show how….concerned I am…..you know…." Ken stumbled with his words.

Astro smirked back at him. "You're not going to give up are you?"

"What?!" Ken snapped back sharply. "No! No…no….it's not like that at all….I'm just…..I just want you to know that….well….I hope you're careful and all and that you don't take any crazy risks like you….usually do and…."

Astro took Ken by his quivering shoulders and pulled him into a soft hug. "Do me a favor Ken? Find someone with a little flesh and a heart beat? You're going to creep me out."

Astro moved back a bit, gave Ken a pair of doeish eyes and lightly tapped him off his chin with a closed fist. "And if you don't take my advice and wait till your 18? Don't try hiding from me? It won't work." With that, Astro flew off and left Ken to fall backwards on the front lawn of his house in a near fit…

" UGH! I HATE THOSE CUTE EYES OF HIS!"

"Kenichi? Why is your cell phone off young man!" Ken's mother screamed from inside the house.

"What?!" Ken shot up to his feet and rifled through his pockets. "ASTRO WAIT! YOU STILL HAVE ME CELL PHONE!"

The end


End file.
